Foreign Ministers of China, Afghanistan and Pakistan Hold the Third Dialogue

2019/09/08

On September 7, 2019 local time, the third China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue was held in Islamabad, Pakistan. State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi, Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani of Afghanistan and Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi of Pakistan attended the dialogue.

Wang Yi expressed, since the inception of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue, the three countries have given full play to the three supporting mechanisms of strategic dialogue, counter-terrorism and security consultation and practical cooperation and dialogue, enhanced mutual trust and advanced cooperation, reaching a series of important consensus and achieving many positive results. At present, the situation in South Asia is undergoing profound and complex changes. Positive progress has been achieved in the peace talks between the United States and the Afghan Taliban, and there is an important opportunity for Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation. Meanwhile, some historical disputes have again escalated, undermining peace and stability in the region. In the international arena, the prevailing unilateralism, protectionism and hegemony have threatened and challenged the interests of developing countries.

Wang Yi pointed out, China, Afghanistan and Pakistan are linked by mountains and rivers with a shared future. The three countries share the aspirations to safeguard regional peace and achieve lasting stability, the need to push forward the building of the Belt and Road Initiative and regional connectivity, as well as the expectation to achieve sustainable development and improve people's livelihood. The three countries should work together and make new efforts to push forward the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process in Afghanistan, improve the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan, promote trilateral practical cooperation and jointly combat terrorism, among others.

Salahuddin Rabbani and Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi made positive assessment on the progress achieved in cooperation and exchanges on the three major themes within the framework of the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue, namely political mutual trust and reconciliation, development cooperation and connectivity, and security cooperation and counter-terrorism. They spoke highly of the Chinese side's contributions to pushing forward the cooperation among the three sides. Salahuddin Rabbani and Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi noted, China, a friendly neighbor and a sincere partner of Afghanistan and Pakistan, has long played an important and positive role in promoting Afghanistan's peace and reconciliation process, pushing forward the improvement of the relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan and maintaining peace and stability in the region. With the complicated regional situation which is undergoing fast changes, the Afghan and Pakistani sides are willing to, under the trilateral cooperation mechanism, boost communication and coordination with the Chinese side, deepen cooperation in such fields as economy and trade, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, connectivity, and joint building of the Belt and Road Initiative, and join hands in combating the terrorist forces including the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, so as to maintain regional peace and stability as well as promote regional development and prosperity.

Foreign Ministers of the three countries agreed to press forward the realization of lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan through the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned reconciliation process; carry out connectivity projects among the three countries with the World Bank and other international financial institutions; and also adopted the first list of projects to be implemented in the memorandum of understanding on trilateral cooperation against terrorism. Foreign Ministers of the three countries also agreed to hold the fourth China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers' Dialogue in 2020 in China.

After the dialogue, Foreign Ministers of the three countries jointly met the press and issued a joint statement.